Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings Steps Down as CEO, Streaming Service Adds Over 7 Million Subscribers in Q4 2022

Bela Bajaria, Netflix's head of global television, was named chief content officer.

By Reuters | Updated: 20 January 2023 10:51 IST

Sarandos and Peters will share the title of chief executives, with Hastings serving as executive chairman

Highlights

Netflix lost customers in the first half of 2022
Both Peters and Sarandos were promoted in July 2020
Netflix introduced a ad-supported option last November in 12 countries

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings announced on Thursday he will step down as chief executive, handing the reins of the streaming service to his longtime partner and co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, and the company's chief operating officer, Greg Peters.

Sarandos and Peters will share the title of chief executives, with Hastings serving as executive chairman. The change is effective immediately, representing the culmination of a decade of succession planning by the board. Both Peters and Sarandos were promoted in July 2020, amid a challenging time for the company.

"It was a baptism by fire, given Covid and recent challenges within our business," Hastings wrote in a blog post announcing his departure. "But they've both managed incredibly well ... so the board and I believe it's the right time to compete my succession."

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Hastings makes his exit on a high note. Netflix reported it added 7.66 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, beating Wall Street forecasts of 4.57 million with help from "Harry & Meghan" and "Wednesday" in the battle to attract streaming television viewers.

The streaming video pioneer has been under pressure from restrained consumer spending and competition from Walt Disney, Amazon.com and others spending billions of dollars to make TV shows and movies for online audiences.

Netflix lost customers in the first half of 2022. It returned to growth in the second half, but new customer additions remains below the pace of recent years.

Netflix Unveils 2023 Movie Slate with 49 Titles: The Full List

To kickstart growth, Netflix introduced a cheaper, ad-supported option last November in 12 countries. It also has announced plans to crack down on password sharing.

The company's global subscriber base hit 231 million at the end of December.

Audiences flocked to Addams family tale "Wednesday," the third-most watched show in Netflix history, the company said. Murder mystery "Glass Onion" and British royals documentary "Harry & Meghan" also were hits during the quarter.

Net income fell to $55 million (roughly Rs. 446 crore) or 12 cents per share, from $607 million (roughly Rs. 4,932 crore) or $1.33 per share (roughly Rs. 100) a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.9 percent to $7.85 billion (roughly Rs. 63,778 crore), in line with expectations.

Bela Bajaria, Netflix's head of global television, was named chief content officer.

The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Wednesday Season 2

Genre Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
Cast
Jenna Ortega, Steve Buscemi, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, Joanna Lumley, Christopher Lloyd, Emma Myers, Joy Sunday, Hunter Doohan, Fred Armisen, Thandiwe Newton, Victor Dorobantu, Billie Piper, Haley Joel Osment, Heather Matarazzo, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Isaac Ordonez, Evie Templeton, Owen Painter, Noah Taylor, Frances O'Connor, Joonas Suotamo, Jamie McShane

Harry & Meghan

Release Date 8 December 2022
Genre Documentary
Cast
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry
Director
Liz Garbus, Erica Sashin
Producer
Erica Sashin, Mark Monroe, Dan Cogan, Ben Browning, Chanel Pysnik, Jon Bardin, Mala Chapple, Angus Wall

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.